Chapter 22 #2
“That’s not good,” I whispered.
Berkr snarled and took off after him.
Celuk cocked his head as he watched them go. “Leave two packs on outside hut,” the male rumbled with a knowing look.
Odix, standing just off to the side, nodded and went to do just that.
“Do I want to know?” I muttered.
“No really,” Kehl answered for him.
“Berkr, Sorak want find Dace more most,” Celuk reasoned with a shrug. “Any find, they find. Sorak smart. Berkr good hunter.” Pausing for a moment, he added, “Good at hunts for Dace.”
“He’s shit at catching his prey and keeping it,” I snarked.
Celuk grinned and pointed a claw tipped finger my way as if to say, Exactly, now you get it.
“Ugh,” I grumbled as I walked away, “you guys are so weird.”
“Go see our Jo, our babies.” Celuk motioned for the mostly quiet Jehkal to follow and the enormous male dipped his head in a polite good-bye to us and left.
True to Celuk’s guess, Berkr and Sorak departed in the wee hours while everyone else was sleeping, but they didn’t just take the supplies left outside for them. Somehow, they managed to sneak in past me and my sleeping Krampus mate, and take more than half of the supplies we’d gathered.
That was about the time Celuk called a temporary halt to the hunters’ planned expedition, just for a little while. He didn’t really have much of a choice unless he wanted to head out unprepared. All of the medical supplies gathered had been scavenged.
Kehl was as pissed as I was, if not more.
“We wait. We see,” Celuk had tossed out casually, then waltzed right back up his mountain to his Jo and his babies, like Berkr and Sorak hadn’t just done a shit thing.
It was a week into this temporary waiting period that the horn they used to alert to danger blew.
“Krampus attacking! Needs help!” a beast bellowed in warning in Lo denaii, and then it was like a frenzy of activity.
“Stay! Keep my Purr-roo, babies safe!” Kehl shouted, leaving me standing there staring after him in his fabric stall as he grabbed the enormous axe he favored and kept out of sight in his stall booth and other males dropped whatever they were doing to grab crazy looking, cleverly hidden weaponry and take off.
“Oh god,” I whispered as I watched my male take off towards where they were pointing, jumping right into the fray.
It felt like time stood still as I watched until his furry back was a speck in the distance.
Daisy, watching all but two of her mates do the same, came over and hugged me so tight I felt my back crack. “They’ll be okay,” she whispered.
Absently, I found myself hugging her back.
“They’ll be okay,” I mumblingly repeated, dazedly. I felt numb with shock.
Daisy sniffled softly and gathered her little ones close.
“You should go in your hut. We all should,” I murmured as I released her to go close up Kehl’s stall.
Daisy’s males still with her rumblingly agreed.
It appeared that others in the market place already were. Those that hadn’t, looking as shocked as I felt, I offered to help get them closed up before heading off to my hut.
I felt like one of those waiting for a package memes, my face pressed up against the glass of the front window like those suctioned cup footed Garfield cats, looking, waiting, impatient as hell.
The second I spied what I thought was a speck of fur moving around outside in the distance, I hopped up to poke my head out the door.
A roar to end all roars echoed throughout the forest. I didn’t think. I just moved. My only thought was KEHL!
Rushing out the door, I whipped past several males that appeared to be standing watch. They tried to stop me but weren’t willing to risk putting their hands on me to do so.
“KEHL?!” I bellowed his name as I took off and the males calling out for me not to go into the woods took off after me.
I’d just reached a heavily wooded area that spilled out into a small, disgusting looking pond when I felt a hand clamp down on my shoulder.
Turning to the offender touching me, I snapped my teeth at them. They moved back just in time before they got my claws.
“Pru?”
Whipping back around at the sound of that voice. I stood there for a full minute wondering if I should pinch myself as Elm stood there looking as gobsmacked as I felt. He was dirtied up and looking a little worse for the wear, but I’d never seen a more glorious sight.
“Elm?” It was definitely my Elm staring back at me but he was sporting a massive set of ram horns.
That was when a hand attempted to clamp down on my shoulder again.
Elm snarled, exposing long, dangerous looking fangs. “No touch!” Elm warned them.
A sound like an elephant trampling through the woods issued and a beast larger than Elm popped through the brush. He was a smidge taller than Elm, with warm brown fur with bits of white, cream, and sandy brown mixed in. It was the ears and the horns that had me staring, transfixed. What in the-
“My Pru, Elm say?” a very dear, familiar voice snarled from the bunny alien being.
“Cy?” I croaked out.
The beast’s head shot up and those eyes. He might look a little different but those eyes belonged to my Cy.
With a cry, I was running towards them, Cy rushing around his stunned sibling to scoop me up and cuddle me close.
“How did you- I don’t- You’re here!” I was openly sobbing. I didn’t care. I couldn’t believe it. They’d found me! They were here!
“My Pru,” Cy rumbled out happily as he buried his face in my neck and inhaled deeply.
The box I kept on me always was squished between us. Cy pulled back to rummage in my hoodie. Pulling out the ring box, he grinned, kissed me good, then grabbed the ring from it to chuck the box at Elm’s stunned head and place the ring on my finger. “MINE,” he snarled out happily against my lips.
“Love you too. It’s about damn time,” I choked out.
Cy pulled back with a grin to brush the tears from my face. I recalled right then about my sudden furriness. “My Pru so soft.” That chittering purr started up in his chest.
“I’m pregnant,” I blurted.
Cy continued to smile, content to let me tell him. He probably already knew if he could pick up scents like that.
“My Pru,” he crooned, repeating my name over and over again as he leaned in and nuzzled at my neck.
Pausing, he jerked his head to face Elm. “Come, rock brains. Come love our Pru. Our Pru Dace not come all the ways for us to stand there like stupid face dummy head, eh?”
Elm fidgeted nervously as he drew closer.
Cy set me on my feet so I could walk up to Elm.
Craning my neck to accomplish the feat, I shoved my hands on my hips and stared up at him.
“Do you have the mate lust thing? Is that why you panicked and took off on me mumbling you didn’t mean it?
It wasn’t that you didn’t regret what had happened between us but that you thought you’d hurt me and were worried you’d been too rough? ”
Elm swallowed thickly and nodded. Dropping the thick pack on his back, he began grabbing out a soggy mess of cardboard. One look at it and I knew it was his box of us. It hadn’t fared well on their journey.
Walking right up to Elm, I reached out to cup his face, dragging his attention from his task, and leaned in to whisper.
“It’s okay.” My hand fell over his and gave it a squeeze.
“Every moment, every memory shared, every song and old movie, every laugh…” Bringing his hand to my chest, I placed it over my heart. “You are my box of us.”
When still, he hesitated, I growled up at him in a way that had him happy shivering in place, “Are we just going to stand here all day growing moss, Elm Tree, or are you going to kiss your mate already?!”
Elm made a garbled noise and grabbed me to him to pick me up and lay one on me. I thought I heard Cy grumble, “‘Bout the time!” as Elm purr-rumbled happily and deepened our kiss.
When Elm and I eventually broke our liplock, we turned at the sound of more elephants trampling through the woods for Kehl to pop through, his axe covered in gore and muck, his body covered in various cuts from scratches to gashes, a male even taller than Elm and Cy stumbling through, equally as battle worn looking, after.
“Mama come,” the enormous, grey furred bunny beast rumbled out.
“Britches?” I blurted as Elm turned to set me down.
I wasn’t racing for Birch in all his gore covered glory. I was headed right for my big, bad Krampus husband.
Kehl dropped his axe and held his arms out to me. I didn’t care what he was covered in. I was too happy to see him alive and in one piece.
“Mine,” Khel rumbled as he scooped me up, kissed me senseless, and cuddled me close. Turning towards Cy and Elm, he jerked his chin over his shoulder. “You mama Sun-knee need help. She say tell boys comes back and help, after find my Purr-roo.”
“Our Pru,” Cy rumbled out softly. There wasn’t that typical possessive heat behind it I’d expected.
Birch grinned as he watched his siblings rush off to do their mother’s bidding.
“Kehl save our lives,” he told me. “You mate, him strong.
Good male. Krampus come ‘round, circle. Kehl come in, roar, scare lots off but still too many. Think take mama.” Birch growled and shook his head.
“We fight. You Kehl come, Lo denaii come. Help. Fight. We beat all off. Hear Pru call out for her Kehl. Him tell Elm and Cy go ‘tect their Pru and babies.” Birch’s grin widened, showcasing a massive set of fangs and funnily shaped, bunny like front chompers. “Birch be uncle, yes?”
“A big, bad bunny uncle,” I teased.
Birch let out a pleased noise.
“Where’s Dace?” I asked Kehl. Before he could answer, I turned to Birch. “Where’s Dace? Did you guys split up? Was she hurt in the fight?”
Birch shook his head. Grimacing, he rumbled, “Dace come through with Maroumak, find us, but then get stuck on other side portal. We go through, then it close. They not make it this side.”
“She- You mean, she’s stuck on the other side?” I spluttered.
“Maroumak too,” Birch confirmed.
“Oh my god…” I didn’t know what to say.